There are many activities where a number of different knives are required. For example, in most kitchens, it is desirable to have a number of different knives of different sizes. For various reasons, it is desirable to store the knives carefully. Firstly, for safety reasons, it is desirable that the knives are stored safely, to minimize the chance of accidentally cutting oneself, or in the case of a domestic kitchen, to prevent young children playing with the knives. It is also desirable to have the knives ready to hand, for use as required. It is undesirable to store knives with other kitchen implements simply in a drawer, as the sharp edge of a knife is quickly dulled by contact with other implements.
Proposals have been made for knife storing devices. However, many known arrangements suffer from various disadvantages. Thus, one proposal is a simple wooden block including a number of elongate recesses extending downwardly at an angle into the block. The block is made from wood. Each knife is stored simply by inserting it into an empty recess in the block.
This has the disadvantage of taking up space on a countertop. Also, the configuration does not promote the clean, hygienic storage of knives, since the recesses in the block can become dirty, and are not easy to clean.
What is desirable is a knife holder that will store knives, or the planar implements, away from other implements. Such a device should preferably not occupy counter space in a kitchen.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a device, for holding a plurality of planar implements, the device comprising: a body, which includes a portion extending laterally outwardly therefrom; a plurality of generally vertical slots in said portion; and, or each slot, a plurality of gripping elements disposed on either side of the slot, the gripping elements defining an entry zone that tapers inwards to enable the gripping elements to be urged apart by insertion of a planar implement, and a spring means urging the gripping elements together for gripping a planar implement.
The device of the present invention can be configured for mounting on a wall. Thus, a main part of the body can be vertical, with the portion with the slots extending horizontally and forwardly from it. When mounted on a wall, this enables a plurality of knives or the like to be readily stored.
Since the knives or other implements are suspended vertically, it is simply necessary to provide enough gripping force to counter the weight of the knives. The gripping elements do not have to retain each knife at a particular angular orientation. Indeed, it is acceptable for the weight of the handle of each knife to cause it to swing to a position in which the centre of gravity is below the gripping point.